Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh - Knowledgebase Question

The following recipes work for lilacs as well as other cut flowers: take a container of water outdoors with you when you're cutting flowers and place the stems into the water as soon as you've cut them. Make one of these solutions to use in place of regular tap water in your flower vase: mix 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach and 1 tablespoon sugar into one gallon of water. Or, 1 cup clear lemon-lime soft drink (like 7-Up) mixed into 1/2 gallon of water. The acid slows bacterial growth and the sugar provides nutrients to the flowers. Change the water solution in the vase every 2-3 days.